5th Sunday of Lent: Fr. Henry’s Vision for Our Family

Dear People of Our Lady of Divine Providence Family of Parishes,

As I mentioned in my homily this past Sunday, I am excited about taking on the role of pastor, but I am also aware of the difficulties we must overcome together. These are unprecedented times in many ways, and we face many very challenging decisions ahead. It is important that we all clearly understand our current state, but even more important that we get a sense of where we ought to be going. Over the next few weeks, I intend to lay out that vision in these bulletin articles. And I always want to reiterate that I am confident that we can take this opportunity to grow as individuals, as parishes, and as a community, and that growth will give us life. I am hopeful that the Beacons of Light process can transform the Church and make it vibrant and life-giving.

Because of the nature of the challenge we face, some people will want to “rip off the band-aid” and bring the process to a conclusion quickly. Others may prefer to remain in a state of blissful ignorance. Both approaches come from an unwillingness to experience the difficulty of the transition. Though transitions are difficult, we need to ensure that we take every necessary step to ensure the spiritual well-being of our people, and steward our resources responsibly. Because the process involves a lot of steps to make a smooth and responsible transition, I will be largely focused on guiding and empowering the parish staff to do their jobs more effectively, so that they can empower others to do the same. That way, we can do as much good as possible with the resources we have, and we can build a culture of leadership at every level of parish life.

That’s enough for now! More to come next week.

Yours in Christ,
Fr. Henry